It is well known in the art to provide firearms, such as handguns, with one or more safeties. Some safeties are opened to permit firing the firearm by following correct firing procedures. For example, a well known trigger safety includes a second type of trigger that is squeezed together with the firing trigger during normal, safe operation of the firearm. Likewise, a grip safety is opened when the firearm is properly gripped by the user. Such safeties will be referred to herein as passive safeties.
There are other safeties that must be opened by means of some action independent of the action of simply gripping the firearm, pulling the trigger and firing a projectile from the firearm. An example is a thumb-actuated safety, e.g., a knob or lever that must be moved by a thumb or other finger to permit firing the firearm. Such safeties will be referred to herein as active safeties.
Locks for locking weapons to prevent unauthorized use thereof are very well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,647,655 and 6,889,459 to Salvitti, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a firearm safety lock for the Model 1911 automatic pistol. The safety lock includes a means of arresting the operation of the main trigger or hammer spring in the pistol grip of the firearm to prevent movement of the hammer, thereby locking the gun in a safe condition. In one of the embodiments, the lock is operated by a keyed device or specialized tool. Such a device could be a simple miniature key lock mechanism, a combination lock integrated into the handle of the gun, or some other snap lock ratcheting mechanism, much like that used in a ball point pen, to withdraw and extend the ball point sequentially.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,269,576 and 6,691,445 to Williams describe a mechanism for disabling a firearm. The disablement mechanism includes a body positionable to block movement of the hammer spring assembly in order to prevent the hammer from being moved to its cocked position.
US Patent Application 20050229461 to McGarry, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a pistol equipped with a lockable manual safety mechanism. The firing apparatus may include a trigger, a trigger bar, a sear, and a hammer that contacts a firing pin which may strike a chambered cartridge. The manual safety may be movable into and out of engagement with the firing apparatus. In one embodiment, the safety engages the sear to prevent the sear from moving and releasing the hammer while held in the cocked position by the sear. In one embodiment, the manual safety is a lever that is pivotally mounted to the frame of the pistol. The pistol may further include a locking member that engages the safety. The locking member may be movable from an unlocked position in which the manual safety is freely movable, to a locked position engaging the manual safety so that the safety cannot freely move and is locked into engagement with the sear while the hammer is held in the cocked position by the sear.
In one embodiment of US20050229461, the locking member may be a lock pin that may be rotatably carried by the pistol and is used the pistol user to lock the manual safety lever in the safe position. In one embodiment, the manual safety lever includes a locking concave surface that matches and meshes with a complimentary-shaped lever engaging surface of the safety lock pin. In one embodiment, the lock pin is key-operated.